1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to air-conditioning unit constructions and in particular to constructions involving coil dispositions to accommodate different positionings of the unit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The general type of air-conditioning unit with which this invention is mainly concerned is sometimes called an air handler in the art, and basically includes a cabinet having a refrigerant evaporator coil in what is called the coil section, and a blower in the adjacent blower section. Such units are ordinarily used in what is called a split system where the refrigerant compressor and condenser are housed in a separate remote unit. These air handlers are also frequently designed to have an electrical resistance heating unit either installed in the cabinet or added to the cabinet as a module.
Depending upon the particular building construction in which the unit is to be installed, it is desirable that a given unit be adaptable to installation in either a vertical disposition or a horizontal disposition. Further, in the vertical disposition the application may be for either upflow, in which the air passes upwardly through the unit, or in downflow in which the air passes down through the unit. Also, in all of these vertical dispositions it is desirable that the air inlet location be available not only from the end of the unit, but also from either the right- or left-hand sides of the coil section. In the horizontal disposition, it is desirable that the air inlet locations be available for either right-hand airflow or left-hand airflow.
It is of course possible for the manufacturer of the units to make a different model to accommodate each of the particular installations. However, this would present problems to the industry in that the manufacturer first has to make all of the different models, and the distributor must stock a sufficient number of each type to satisfy the demand, which may not be uniform across the model line.
This problem has of course been recognized in the air-conditioning field, and air-conditioning units adapted for different dispositions have been disclosed and are in commercial use.
For example: U.S. Pat. No. 3,089,315 discloses an air-conditioning unit which includes an arrangement in which the evaporator coil may be removed and reinstalled in a different orientation to accommodate either an upflow or a downflow installation, but this unit is relatively limited with respect to flexibility beyond such installations.
Examples of other patents having arrangements directed to the solution of some of the same problems to which this invention is directed include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,299,660; 3,596,475 and 3,678,993.
However, in none of these arrangements is there the total flexibility available with an arrangement according to my invention and in which a single basic unit can be adapted for all of the types of installation.